Acta, Non Verba
by LiterallyHasNoIdeasForAnOKName
Summary: !(Being re-written)! The War of Sandwing Succession enters its tenth year. Windbreaker is a reluctant SkyWing soldier serving in Queen Scarlet's Army. Trying to contribute to or even survive a war he has no control over, an unusual assignment will send him on a journey with questions he may not like the answers to in the end. Main story takes place months before Winglets: Assassin.
1. Prologue

Prologue

 **May 7, 5,002 A.S...  
**

* * *

If you're being hunted down, the worst thing you can do is get yourself hurt. The second worst thing you could do is lose yourself in a deep forest.

Squall, the _luckiest_ SeaWing in the world, found that she somehow had done both to herself.

She found herself dragging her wing in the dirt and limping, keeping a forearm off the ground as she staggered along the damp forest floor. She didn't know how bad her wing was; she didn't have time to look at it. As for her forearm, she could move it, but not put weight on it.

It was easy for her to tell it was slashed by the blood running down her forelimb. It stung with a dull, low pain that seemed to flow up and down her arm as if it was water.

The more she thought about how she got into this situation, the more she just wanted to somehow disappear. Maybe she could just lay down and wait, wait for Trench to find her so that she wouldn't have to be alone. But despite how much she wanted to stop, she had to keep going.

 _I can't let the IceWings or the SkyWings find me. If they do, I'm…_

Squall felt the grip of fear, cold and merciless- just like the IceWings. She imagined herself being caught in a cloud of frost-breath. She imagined how it felt to have her body freeze solid before her eyes, to feel the numbness overwhelm her and see her limbs become ice. That would be worse than any pain she could imagine. Her heart thumped a bit harder in her chest. Thinking about this made her want to just dig a hole and hide in it until the end of time itself.

But she couldn't let her fear take her. She had to fight that fear. She had to win.

She was a warrior. She could do this.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself.

 _They won't. I won't let them find me. I'll take cover in this forest, get my bearings, and make it back to the Sea Kingdom._

Her lips curled into a pained, but determined grimace as she kept going, deeper into the forest.

A few minutes of silence, which she found dreadful. The only noises she could hear was the occasional crackling of leaves from her steps, the low scrape of her own scales against tree bark, and the fast scritter of forest creatures stalking around. The birds had stopped singing for the day, the insects replacing them as it started to get dark. The air was moist and surprisingly cool for the season, and wet dew gathered quickly on her feet as she limped her way through the grass.

She could still smell rain in the air. The sun's rays shone through the thick trees, casting tall shadows in the forest. As she passed a particularly old, twisted looking oak tree she got a faceful of light from the orange sunset, making her turn her head and scowl. The battle must have ended some time ago.

 _Would be nice if it wasn't so quiet,_ Squall thought.

Crack.

Squall sucked in her breath and looked down; she had carelessly stomped on a branch. Frantically wheeling her head around, her nerves frayed once again, she might have just given herself away. Was she safe?

She stopped to listen, concentrating for any noises under the buzzing of mosquitos.

A dozen second silence was her answer. Precisely the kind she wanted.

She decided to wait there to catch her breath, racking her brain to get some kind of understanding of the chaos that unfolded just thirty minutes ago.

It started out as a scouting party. It was her and two others, Trench, and Salmon. They were scouting the northwest coast of the Sky Kingdom, looking for troop movements. The idea was their small group wouldn't be easy to detect or intercept, especially if they stayed close to the ocean. They had been out there for about three hours when the rain had settled, and they took the risk of flying.

They thought the setting sun would cover them.

Then the IceWings came out of nowhere.

She had no idea where they came from, but all she knew was that they threw themselves at them with fury. Outnumbered at least four to one, the fight was frantic and panicked. She couldn't make sense of it, even when looking back at the event. Violent, shimmering white blurs, whose claws and frozen breath sent Salmon into the sea, blood pouring from his throat.

Trench and her barely avoiding the attacks meant for them, then flying over the hills to try to get away, fleeing for their lives after less than six seconds of fighting.

In hindsight, flying over land was the dumbest idea of all time.

 _I should have gone straight for the ocean_ , Squall thought. She groaned, putting her head against the nearest tree and scolding herself repeatedly on just how brainless this whole decision was.

 _The SeaWing who chose to escape from danger by land._ S _o stupid! Great work coming from the 'future general', right here! And on top of the horrific situational awareness, how did we manage to get IceWings to sneak up on us?!_

She couldn't beat herself up too much, though. She was afraid and everything had been happening so fast. She was alive, and that was what mattered.

She just hoped her brother was okay, too.

Shutting her eyes, the world around her became thick darkness. If the sun was setting, she'd need to get her natural night vision kicked in, and quickly. She needed every advantage she could get. With her eyes shut, she sighed and willed herself to continue recalling what happened. She'd need to make a report once she got back, and it wasn't looking very good.

They had flown as hard as they could, looking back at the jeering IceWings who were ready to tear them apart.

Because misery loves company, that was the time the SkyWings came.

That time, they had some warning. They could see them coming, at least an entire two flights (which, if her training served, two SkyWing flights was about twenty-eight dragons) from the southwest. The bloodthirsty excitement on them from easily visible even from where she was, the quick wingbeats and murderous eyes of the lead dragon regarding all of them like they were a royal feast.

She recalled her brother screaming in terror and immediately breaking off in another direction. She had tried to call him back- " _Trench, wait! Don't!_ "-but he didn't listen, and she turned in the air to try to chase him.

Suddenly at that time, she had felt a body slamming into her from below, and a searing flash of pain in her left arm. She had wondered what that feeling was, but now she knew; the serrated claws of an IceWing tearing her scales and flesh.

Quite a bit of luck, with that. She was sure the IceWing was aiming for someplace more lethal, but she made her turn at the best possible moment.

There was a splash of blood that got in her eye…falling…maybe a bit of screaming (Her screaming? Probably.)

And like that, she suddenly was on the ground with a battle going on right over her head and a left-wing she couldn't feel. She had scrambled to her feet, suppressing a yelp when she put weight on her hurt foreleg and wildly hobbled to get away as fast as she could.

She was lucky: no SkyWings decided to check if she was actually killed yet, the IceWings actively trying to kill them was far more important. But since the fighting was over now, the priorities had changed. She knew, however, the night was approaching, the SkyWings would have a hard time tracking her. She just has to remain hidden for another…

In the far distance, the trees shook and the sound of leaves in the wind echoed down the forest floor, along with the easily recognizable flap of wingbeats. _Oh, great, Squall thought_. Her eyes flew open as she got her head off of the tree and laid on the ground on the side of her uninjured wing.

After a bit of writhing to work herself into the ground, she looked at how she was, dismayed and annoyed.

She was barely concealed.

Sitting up with a grunt, she scraped up all the soil she could, and heaved as much mud and dirt onto herself as possible.

She couldn't help but cringe. The nasty dirt sunk in-between her scales quickly. She mentally apologized to her scales for making them put up with this.

 _At the very least, it's easier to hide with green scales,_ she thought.

Despite the self-consolation, she didn't feel much better. Just stickier.

The wingbeats were getting louder, and the trees close to her to danced in the wind of what could only be made by SkyWings. Squall sunk into the ground as much as she could, resisting the urge to tremble.

 _I'd really, really like it if I didn't have to die today, thank you._

She could barely hear the voice of a dragon somewhere above the forest, over the storm of wings that made all the trees around her sway in the wind; they must be right above her, but she couldn't see them.

"Search here. I'll check about half-a-mile down that way." She heard.

As the SkyWing left, she heard the sound of bushes rustling nearby.

Someone was coming.

 _No. You're kidding me._

Squall pushed her head down into the dirt and closed her eyes. It took all she could to fight the urge to get up and run as fast as she could as the sound of rustling got closer and closer.

If she didn't know any better, it sounded as if it was right on top of her now.

 _This is it, isn't it? I'm actually gonna die, and while like this, too... I can see it now; 'Squall. She lived a SeaWing, died a MudWing'_.

Squall opened one of her eyes.

As if on cue, a hare hopped its way out of the brush where she was looking.

 _No. I'm fine. Awesome._

With effort, Squall got to her feet. Now it was time to find out where she was and get back home. Squall turned around to get a better picture of her surroundings.

She would regret doing that immediately.

Instead of a good exit, her eyes found the face of a wine-red SkyWing staring at her from fifteen feet away.

She'd been found.

 _No… no, no no no…_

"Stay back…" Squall heard herself say, so fast she couldn't stop herself. She barely registered the sudden tremble in her voice.

The SkyWing didn't move. He just..stared at her with intense yellow eyes.  
 _  
He's seen me. But he hasn't even moved, hasn't given a signal, hasn't shouted...What is WRONG with him?!_ Squall found herself staring back soon enough.

In the silence, a dragonfly zoomed through the space between them at a speed that Squall found herself wishing she could match if she tried to run.

Ahead of her, the SkyWing was squinting. She guessed he couldn't see her too well, but she could because her night vision had kicked in, and she took the time to examine him.

The dragon that found her was…actually, shorter than her. She guessed he was likely at least a year younger than her, going off of size and horns. Squall had seen her share of SkyWings before, and it was common for many of them to have scars- he had only a few, nowhere as many as she'd expect. The only one she saw upfront was a tiny one on his chest. His body seemed like some weird halfway point between wiry and muscular, his muscles somewhat defined but his body still quite thin, like he was a little underfed. She could see a brown pouch around his left rear leg that was at least two sizes too large for him.

She had no idea how long they did their little game of don't-look-away, but she was running out of patience.

And as time went on, he barely moved so much as a talon.

She wished her leg didn't hurt. She could take him on if she wasn't, she knew it. But if she tried any sudden moves like this, she'd fall on her rear instead.

She couldn't let him see that. She'd heard about the SkyWing queen and some of the things she does to her prisoners. Squall wasn't going to let that happen. She was going to make him kill her if she had to.

"If you're going to take me prisoner, you'll have to come and get me." Squall said.

 _That's right. And I'll die before I let you take me._

"No." the SkyWing said, in a hushed voice.

 _What?_

"What do you mean, no?" Squall said, matching his voice.

"I'm not going to take you prisoner." The SkyWing took a step forward.

"You're going to just kill me?" Squall said, taking a stumbling step back.

"Not that either." He said.

"So you're just going to gawk at the pretty SeaWing?" Squall said.

"I guess." the SkyWing replied.

"Seriously?" Squall couldn't think of a reason as to why of all the SkyWings she'd run into, it'd be this awkward, ditzy one. If he wasn't going to get her killed or caught, standing around like an idiot would be something he should avoid doing.

"I don't know if you noticed, but your murderous friends are kind of trying to turn me inside out." Squall said. "So if you'd kindly point me to the ocean, I'd be very appreciative."

"I would. But you won't be going anywhere with a wing like that." The SkyWing flicked his tail at her left side.

When Squall looked down at her wing, she didn't like what she saw. It was bent at an awkward angle, part of the wing in the dirt where it would normally be straightened out.

 _Okay. That's a little scary…_

Attempting to move it, she found quickly that her wing was still as stone. No matter how much she worked to just manipulate it, she could only fold the membranes slightly. _  
_

 _Oh, you're kidding me._

"I...I-I think it's broken."

"Let me see."

"What did you say?"

"Let me see it." The SkyWing said, approaching her carefully.

Squall sighed and turned so that he could see her wing easier. The mystery SkyWing came so close he could feel his breath, his eyes and talons tracing her wing in the darkness.

After a few seconds (and a sharp hiss at him when he touched a painful spot) he stepped away. "Your wing's dislocated, not broken." the SkyWing said.

But now her wing would need to be treated in a timely manner.

She wasn't sure she liked where this was going.

"Annnd...let me guess. You're going to help me put it back into place now?" Squall said.

"I don't see why not," the SkyWing replied.

"You don't see why you shouldn't help the enemy dragon get back to her commander?" Squall said.

"You're wounded and incapable of fighting. If I killed you, it'd be like stealing meals from a hatchling," the SkyWing said. "Lay against the tree or something."

 _I can't believe I'm doing this._

Squall limped her way over to the tree she'd previously hid against and shifted her weight against it.

The tree was sticky with sap and she felt some get onto her scales, adding to her sensory annoyances so far.

"Wait." Squall said, and the small SkyWing halted.

"How do you know it's dislocated?" Squall asked.

"You're asking a SkyWing if they know the difference in wing injuries?" the SkyWing replied.

"You're asking an enemy soldier why they don't trust you?" Squall's response earned an exasperated sigh from the SkyWing.

"Can you stop calling yourself an enemy, for the moon's sake? I mean, it's true, but you have a name, don't you?"

 _Yeah. Does it matter if you know?_ Squall thought pointedly.

But at the same time...it felt more than a little rude to not give a name.

He'd already had the courtesy to not kill her the second he saw her, and he even was helping her escape with her life.

Besides, it wasn't like they'd ever meet each other again.

"Squall."

The SkyWing gazed at her a few moments, with a look she couldn't read.

"Windbreaker," he said finally, as he put his talons onto her wing.

"This is going to hurt. Can you keep silent?" Windbreaker said.

If Squall didn't know better, she'd thought he sounded concerned.

"I hope so," Squall replied.

"Well. Here goes. Sorry about this," Windbreaker said.

 _Sorry? I just met him, why's he saying sorr- OW!_

The pain attacked her with a sharp tingle that reminded her of the shock from an electric eel. It ran up and down her scales so quickly it was a real struggle to not kick Windbreaker in the face and scream. Instead, her protest came out as a rather painful growl in her throat.

It took a few moments for the pain to subside. After that time, she looked around. Windbreaker had taken a few steps back from her. Checking her wing, she noted it stung really badly but tested it with a small flap.

Looking back on the event, she'd never feel as relieved in her life as she was when her left wing was moving properly again.

"Oh my moons, it worked… Thank you. Thank you so much."

"No problem." Windbreaker said, staring up into the sky before another awkward silence was exchanged between the two of them like their staring contest.

"Mind if I ask something?" Windbreaker said, breaking the silence after a dozen seconds.

"Uhm...not at all," Squall said.

"Squall. That's a name associated with wind. That doesn't seem like a SeaWing name."

"Yeah? So what? You think it's a funny name?" Squall asked with an edge of anger in her voice.

"No?" Windbreaker replied.

She'd always had issues with other SeaWings making fun of her name. She couldn't help but feel some kind of anger creep inside of her whenever they pointed her name out, like she was some kind of oddity, like she was less than them.

It was part of the reason why she sought out the military. She wanted to prove them wrong so badly.

"Good. Anyway, A Squall is usually something you get when you're out on the ocean. Mom taught me that."

"Mom?" Windbreaker asked.

"Uh, yeah. Mother. Never met yours or something?"

Windbreaker shrank back from Squall, looking at the ground.

 _Oh, seahorse dung. That was insensitive._

"Wait. I was right? I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. My stepfather raised me. He...was pretty cool," Windbreaker said.

 _Oh no. He used past tense._

"Uhh... Sorry to hear that." Squall said. She felt bad about what she said.

"Don't be. I'm not beating myself up over it. It's old news. There's just something I don't get." Windbreaker said, before going on.

"They tell me that all SeaWings are monsters. That you should be killed on sight, that you're all honorless and disgusting. And that you smell like fish."

"Wow. Lots of compliments there." Squall said, barely feeling the smirk on her face.

Windbreaker didn't seem to get her sarcasm(or the fact she didn't deny the fish part).

"But...Why aren't you like that? If every SeaWing is supposed to be, why aren't you?" Windbreaker had the look of someone who desperately wanted an answer.

"Because it's not true."

Windbreaker was silent after that.

He seemed to be thinking. His expression was unreadable to her, which normally would worry her in this particular situation.

But what was really so weird to her was the fact that was a question that needed to be answered. Was it so bad in the Sky Kingdom that their dragonets barely knew anything but stereotypes? Did their Queen have them all brainwashed, perhaps?

He did also look like he needed some extra food. The war must have been affecting them really badly. Maybe she should bring him something. Was that a good idea?

She didn't hear another noise out of Windbreaker for the next twenty seconds. With each breath she took, she swore the awkwardness was seeping into her lungs.

Either that or the smell of pine was starting to get irritating.

"That's what Crimson would've said." Windbreaker broke the silence, which was welcome to Squall.

"Who?" Squall said.

"My stepfather." Windbreaker replied.

"Oh. Who...killed him?" Squall said. Was this going where she thought it was?

Windbreaker was silent for a dozen seconds.

"SeaWings did."

 _Oh. It was going where I thought it was going. I am the worst dragon ever tonight._

"I'm sorry."

Windbreaker shrugged. "It's war."

Squall understood his sentiment. Sometimes dragons just got caught in the middle.

But this was giving her questions, questions she wanted an answer to. Why was this SkyWing showing kindness? Why wasn't he killing her right now? She had to find out.

"So why?" Squall locked eyes with Windbreaker.

"What?" Windbreaker looked confused.

"Why are you helping me?"

Windbreaker shifted a bit and looked away for a brief few seconds. Turning back to face her, he broke his third silence.

"It's what he would have done. Honor first."

Squall was satisfied with that answer, for what it was.

But now she wanted to ask some questions of her own.

Being in the Sea Kingdom's army meant you would hear rumors of other enemy armies quite often. Some were ridiculous- but others seemed feasible enough to have to ask.

The more Squall thought about a particular rumor, the more she realized it made too much sense.

"Windbreaker, is it true that the SkyWings have a breeding program?"

"Yes. Don't you?" Windbreaker said, sitting on his haunches.

 _Wow, he gave that up easy,_ Squall thought.

That explained a lot. They'd been having prolonged engagements with SkyWing groups for so long. It confused her commanders how they seemed to have a never-ending flow of reinforcements. Many other Tribes recruited young soldiers extensively, but not to the extent Windbreaker was suggesting, not even slightly.

"No. We have mostly volunteers."

"Most of you choose to fight?" He looked shocked, which Squall noted only for a brief moment.

"Yeah. When we got old enough, I joined up with my…"

 _Oh, squid ink._

She was too busy thinking about all the information she'd got. Squall couldn't believe she had lost him, or even almost forgot about him! What kind of sister was she?

"My brother! Did you see another SeaWing with me?"

Windbreaker shank back, surprised at her sudden change of energy but answered quickly.

"One with blue scales?" Windbreaker replied.

"Yeah. That's my brother. Did he…?" Squall said.

"We lost sight of him, too, yeah." Windbreaker answered.

"Oh, thank the moons. Do you know which direction he fled?"

"Last I saw him, he was going northeast," Windbreaker said. "There was a pair of IceWings chasing him. I think he made it to the water."

"IceWings chasing him? I have to find him." Squall said.

Windbreaker didn't give a visible reaction.

"Follow me. Ocean's about a quarter-mile away." Windbreaker about-faced and they started their jog through the forest. Their rushing was as fast as Squall's hurt leg could allow it.

Eventually, they were at the shoreline, the North Sea coast of the Sky Kingdom still and serene. The head of the greatest of the three moons peeked out over the dark blanket of the ocean, shining a faint beam of moonlight onto the ocean ahead of them. Squall jumped into the water without delay, the splash echoing through the night. The first thing she felt before the cold water was the salt stinging her arm, making her grunt.

"You alright?" Windbreaker inquired behind her.

"Yeah. Just a little pain. I can take it." Squall replied.

She was able to make use of her forearm now, with slow and deft strokes to keep afloat as long as she ignored the pain.

Turning around in the water, she faced Windbreaker who was standing on the edge of shore in front of her.

She felt something slimy push against her unhurt arm. That was when she remembered to get Windbreaker something.

With a fast motion, she wrapped her claws around whatever she caught and tugged a cod almost as large as her talon out of the water.

 _Amazing timing, little guy! Too bad you're gonna be dinner._

"Hey, Windy." Squall said, holding her catch out of the water and gripping it tightly as it flopped around in her talon kind of like the one time her brother tried to dance in public.

"Windy?" Windbreaker said.

"Yeah. Windy. Take this."

She held her prize out to him, barely able to contain her smile.

"A...fish?"

Squall snorted. Was he serious? _Yes, a FISH._

"No. It's a bomb that's going to explode whenever a SkyWing touches it."

Windbreaker looked twice as reluctant after hearing that. Squall sighed and pushed the fish close to his chest, which made him flinch for a brief moment.

He stared at the fish like it was actually going to blow him up, which Squall thought was kind of adorable and a little sad.

'You look like you need something to eat. Take it. Please." Squall said, only partially noticing how her voice softened.

"Oh. Thanks." He said, gently grabbing it from her outstretched talon and staring at it.

"Don't need to thank me." Squall replied as Windbreaker simply stared at the fish in his talons.

As nice as everything was, she needed to get going.

"Well, uh...have a good life. Don't get killed." Squall said.

She sincerely meant that, which kind of surprised her.

"Likewise." Windbreaker replied, after another pause.

"Thanks for not killing me and all…You know? For an enemy, you're pretty cool." Squall said.

Windbreaker nodded, understandably looking a little solemn.

"Same to you, Squall."

After another second of exchanging goodbyes, she nodded respectfully and plunged into the ocean without any more words. Her vision kicked into overdrive, revealing the ocean floor below her as she swam frantically. Her mind was abuzz with thoughts about her situation and her brother.

 _Where is he? This is all my fault._

 _I've never had anything like that happen before._

 _Are they going to punish Windbreaker for losing me?_

 _How bad am I gonna get it when I report what happened?_

 _Was that how SkyWings were before this war?_

 _Moons above, **WHERE IS HE?!**_

 _TRENCH?!_ Squall shone at full brightness her luminescent scales in the patterns of Aquatic, the SeaWing underwater language.

A school of fish scattered before her eyes as the greyish, murky landscape of under the ocean became bright and colorful in timed splashes of green. In the distance, she saw the silhouette of a dragon close to the top of the water disappear as each pulse ended.

 _I think that's him!_ Squall thought while she torpedoed off into the abyss, the excitement and relief overshadowing her pain as Squall went into the depths to get her brother.

In the end, she didn't have to work that hard to find him.

She just had to follow the blood.

* * *

 **A/N: Full disclosure: This story is kind of in limbo. Currently, I'm settling for re-writing what is there, but I really can't guarantee anything for this story anymore. This was my first ever fic on the archive, so it has a special place in my heart, but I wish old me had put some more planning in before starting this one.**

 **Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy what's there, and my rewrite isn't going to change things too drastically.**

Wings of Fire belongs to Scholastic and Tui T. Sutherland.


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Here's the next chapter. This has been a real challenge so far, but I like it. Hope you enjoy.  
_

* * *

 _Seven months later…_

Chapter one

 **February 25th, 5,003 A.S.  
**

* * *

Windbreaker was a SkyWing that was somehow tired of flying.

Although, it might've had something to do with him flying for hours straight.

Below him, green lands and forests stretched out endlessly until the land started to turn into the signature tan of the Sand Kingdom so many miles away.

The sky was mostly clear of clouds and the sun was high above them. The wind, despite it being slightly cold to him, felt great underneath his wings as it pushed him exactly where he wanted to go.

The Claws Mountains were just as many miles behind them. Even from this distance, they dwarfed the land surrounding it, their brown and white-tipped peaks standing so high they split the clouds in two.

Precisely the kind of weather a SkyWing would strive for.

And still, he was tired of flying. Why?

A draft of wind hit his side. He felt the pull of a leather harness on his chest.  
 _  
Ah._ That's why he was tired.

He almost forgot that he was carrying several dozen pounds worth of equipment.

They'd been stationed a few miles from Her Majesty, Queen Scarlet's Palace, before they'd been sent northwest close to the Sand Kingdom's border for message running duty.

He recalled his orders, given to him by a SkyWing officer who didn't seem very happy to see them (although she was never happy, it seemed):

" _Bring this enclosed scroll and extra provisions to a Lieutenant Falcon, who was recently sent out to the Sky Kingdom's northwest borders to set up an outpost. Station yourself there and await further orders. And tell him he isn't allowed to give his post a stupid name."_

Ahead of him, the only other SkyWing with him was the one he'd go anywhere with: Stratus, his superior.

Officially, at least. To say he _really_ was his superior would be a total overstatement.

True, he held rank over him. But they'd grown up together, looking out for each other (which usually meant Stratus would beat up whoever was looking for a fight and Windbreaker would join in after the swings started) until they got old enough to be sent off to the military.

When it was time for that, Stratus went with him. He was honestly a big brother to Windbreaker, which was a bit ironic if you considered that Stratus was smaller than him. His orange, stocky body had a scar here and there, trophies of his many fights.

Windbreaker would never want to challenge his position, though. He really didn't like having to charge into battle. He also certainly didn't think of himself as a leader.

He still provided suggestions when he thought it prudent, however.

A growl emanated from his stomach, providing a suggestion of its own.

"Stratus, I think we should stop for a bit. Little hungry." Windbreaker said.

"Agreed," Stratus replied simply.

They quickly found an open field with several deer grazing blissfully. As they swooped down together, their prey didn't even see them coming.

As soon as the deer's heads turned skyward, Windbreaker grabbed one mid-flight and snapped its neck with a flick of his talon before coming to a three-legged landing by a patch of wheat.

The rest of the deer scattered as quickly as they could, bounding down the field and disappearing behind a nearby treeline. No real loss; eating light was necessary anyway.

Windbreaker didn't realize how hungry he was until he started eating.

Together, they made their meal disappear quicker than he'd expected.

Satisfied after their lunch, his curiosity eventually went to the message he carried. Windbreaker opened a sealed pouch on his chest, pulling out a scroll with a protected case around it.

He'd made a habit of peeking at the correspondence whenever he found he was able to get away with it. Sure, it was a terrible thing to do. But Windbreaker didn't like flying into a thunderstorm with no idea where the lightning was striking.

Not to mention, his habit had given him an understanding of the war itself better than a fair few, so he'd continue doing it unless had a very good reason not to.

"I'm about to peek at the letter." Windbreaker warned.

"Rule isn't broken if no one knows you broke it," Stratus said, licking his still-bloody lips.

Windbreaker smirked. Stratus was learning fast.

Unrolling the case and handing it off to Stratus, he slowly rolled the rather tiny scroll out in his talon.  
 _  
_"So what do we have?" Stratus asked.

"Let's find out." Windbreaker replied before reading aloud.

 _To Lt. Falcon,_

 _We in the capital are aware of your current situation. However, due to the uptick in Mud Kingdom activity and the rapidly intensifying conflict in both the western Sand Kingdom and our southern border, we cannot send many additional reinforcements from the capital itself, and all units nearby you are to stay where they are. Therefore, a pair of message fliers will deliver this letter and what additional supplies that can be spared. Effective immediately, they are under your command until overridden by a higher authority. We would like to warn you that you should expect some form of resistance from Blaze's forces, who are likely to take advantage of our disadvantageous situation. We cannot provide any updates on the Sea Kingdom's military as they have been quiet for the past two months save for a company-size unit supporting Mud Kingdom forces in the south. On that note, within twenty miles south of your assigned position will be a combat-ready squadron of thirty-five dragons under the command of Lt. Starling, located on Point Sunset. In the event you are compromised, fall back to this position, repel any attackers, and prepare to counter-attack as soon as physically possible. The garrison is NOT allowed to leave their post, but they have been instructed to support you if necessary._

 _With regards,  
Ensign Bonfire_

"We're going to be his relief? Great." Windbreaker sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

"Did you catch what they meant, though?" Stratus said. "We can't really help you, but here! Have some help that won't help you!"

"Pfft." Windbreaker replied, replacing the letter as Stratus went silent, presumably to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Meanwhile, Windbreaker himself thought about what he'd read.

 _Sea Kingdom's Military has been quiet for a few months.._. _That doesn't sound very promising. A buildup, maybe?_ _According to the maps, we'll be in range of the ocean, but we'll have some backup within a few miles of us, so I guess that is fine._

Windbreaker watched the clouds that dotted the sky for some time. For about a minute, he'd been staring at a cloud he'd thought looked like spilled paint until a thought occurred to him.  
 _  
Would that SeaWing I met be in that one unit that's south?_

Windbreaker closed his eyes. It'd been months ago, but he remembered it clear as day. The first SeaWing he'd actually met, and she was nowhere as bad as he'd been taught.

By the moons, she'd even brought him _something to eat._

 _"Because it's not true."_ Were her words to him, her words that reminded him of things he never should've forgotten in the first place.

 _"A painting has layers, that add depth to the colors, Windbreaker."_

Wait.

That wasn't Squall. Those were Crimson's words, his advice to him.

 _"When you make a work, it isn't just about the first stroke."_ He'd said when he first learned to paint with him.

 _"Same thing with dragons. Everyone's like a canvas, and nobody's work is really finished until the final stroke is made. That's why you need to try to look at the entire picture, not just the individual lines, even if they don't look right at first. The colors might be that way for a reason. Did you get that, Windbreaker?"_

" _Windbreaker?"_ He'd heard him. He was just engrossed in figuring out what his colors were.

 _ **"Windbreaker?"**_

Well, that wasn't Crimson's voice either.

He opened his eyes. Stratus was standing in front of his face.

"Hey. Don't daydream. We should go before a patrol catches us slacking." He said.

Windbreaker didn't respond. He really didn't need to.  
 _  
_In just a few more seconds, they took to the skies, reinvigorated and ready.

The rest of their flight was uneventful with Windbreaker simply staring at clouds until they'd arrived at their destination.

"Look alive," Stratus said when they did arrive, pointing a talon. "There it is."

About nine hundred yards away, a collection of at least eight tents sat on the foot of a small forested mountain, surrounding in a circle a single stripped pine tree with the banner of the Sky Kingdom hanging atop it. Around these tents was a clearing at least forty yards wide, made of uprooted earth and tree-stumps. A pile of logs sat alone just at the edge of the clearing. A short, dirt-colored trail went up the side of the mountain to an overlook, where Windbreaker saw an orange SkyWing standing by themself, gazing in the desert's direction.

 _I don't see many patrols. Don't tell me this place is that tiny._

A SkyWing that appeared almost bronze-colored sitting on the peak of the small mountain spread their wings and took to the sky, flying toward them.

 _That's the sentry. Only one?_

 _Little security presence, small camp, a soon to be very disappointed commander…wonderful._

"State your business," the bronze Sky-Wing said disinterestedly when they reached him, flying around them and joining the formation on the other side of Stratus.

"Message from the Capital itself. Where's your commander?" Stratus said.

"Standing on the overlook." the bronze said. "Can't miss it."

The Sky-Wing that joined them broke off and went to land once they were overhead the camp. Windbreaker and Stratus instead landed on the trail going to the overlook and made their way up to see the dragon in charge.

The commander of the camp himself was distracted when they reached him. He still was staring out to the west.

Windbreaker could easily tell at a glance he'd been a soldier for a long time, just by counting the scars. If that wasn't enough, the fact he was at least five feet taller than them both despite his thin frame made it clear he'd been alive at least longer than him and Stratus' ages combined.

Stratus had to hiss to catch his attention.

He looked at them with amber eyes, seeming half-lidded at first, but they lit up at the sight of them.

Windbreaker stood at attention with Stratus, waiting for the call to be relieved.

"Sir. Specialist Stratus reports as ordered. Specialist Stratus has-"

"Stop it." The large SkyWing said.

They were all silent for a few seconds.

To Windbreaker, the commander didn't look grumpy or annoyed, just tired.

The sound of rocks being knocked around made Windbreaker look down. The tip of Stratus' tail was rubbing the dirt. He was fidgeting, as he would sometimes do.

"Stop what, sir?" Stratus said.

"You're doing it again." He said. "We are many miles from the Capital, Stratus. You can lighten up with the etiquette, I'm not one of _those_ officers."

Windbreaker could see Stratus loosen up, and he could himself feel his internal sigh of relief.

Maybe this new post wasn't going to be _that_ bad after all.

"Right. Thanks." Stratus said. "Falcon, right?"

Falcon regarded them with a surprisingly warm demeanor. "Yes. I'm in charge of this place. Lieutenant Falcon, at your service. Welcome to Camp Nowhere."

Camp Nowhere. Looking around, Windbreaker was going to see if that was true.

They were within about fifteen miles of the ocean (He was correct with his guess earlier. They were, indeed, in sight of it) and the Sand Kingdom's huge expanse was visible in the far distance to the west. The ground changed hints from a green to an earthy tan the closer his eyes got to the border. From here, the northern point of the Five-Tailed river was the halfway point of completely barren and still livable, the blue waters and forest on one side contrasting sharply against the sandy colors ahead of it.

It wouldn't make a bad portrait, all things considered.

Windbreaker was glad he'd never had to go there. Any soldier he talked to about the Sand Kingdom seemed three times as bad as one of the SkyWings from the palace (and they were _bad)._

Perhaps they were right when they said sand got _everywhere._

He had to withhold a chuckle at the thought.

"So, your name is?" Falcon said, addressing him.

"Windbreaker." He replied.

"Good to meet you both," Falcon said. "I see you're under load. I'm guessing you have some provisions and a message?"

"Spot on, Falcon," Stratus said. "Windbreaker?"

Windbreaker was already going for the easiest to reach pouch on his body. He pulled out the message, which was enclosed back in its protective case, and handed it to Falcon, who took it with one of his wing digits.

"Good work. Get unloaded, we'll see what your orders are in a bit."

Windbreaker and Stratus gave sidelong glances at each other.

That was their cue to leave.

They both saluted and about-faced, going back down to the rest of the camp below them.

"So. Which tent's going to be ours?" Stratus said as they reached the bottom quite quickly.

"Let's go find which one's empty." Windbreaker replied.

"Hey! You just arrived, right?"

A small, nearly scarless flame-colored SkyWing approached them.

Was that the one that'd just talked to them?

"Yes?" Stratus tried.

"Cool! So you're part of our garrison, now? What're your names?" She said.

They traded glances, once more. She was _actually welcoming_ them.

 **"** New, aren't you?" Windbreaker asked, which made the SkyWing scrunch her snout at him.

"Sort of. Why do you ask?" She replied.

"Well…Usually, we don't get approached like this. And usually, everyone says hello by grunting at each other." Stratus said.

"Oh, we have someone like that here." She said, the lightest of friendly smiles on her face. "I call him Grumbles."

Her response earned a chuckle from Windbreaker.

"I'm Windbreaker, and this is Stratus." He said, tapping a wing against Stratus when he mentioned his name.

"Yours?" He asked.

"Kite." She responded.

"Ah. Hello, Kite." Stratus said. "We're to remain here until further orders come, which probably means forever, seeing as we are basically in the middle of nowhere. Maybe we can wait this war out here."

"I wouldn't be so optimistic. They just don't know we're out here yet." Falcon's voice, already coming down.

"They as in the enemy." Stratus guessed, his neck craned around to see Falcon behind them.

"Maybe we should take that obnoxious thing down, then. Wouldn't that be great?" Kite said, flicking her tail at the flagpole that was clearly made from a raw tree.

Falcon frowned at her, but didn't say anything.

However, Windbreaker smirked.

He was liking her already.

"Would love to chat, but we need to find a tent that's empty." He said.

"There's one on the opposite side of the circle, take that one." Falcon said, passing them.

After that, they left to find their living space.

Following his directions, they'd found a large brown tent that was fortunately empty. A peek inside revealed plenty of room, which Windbreaker thought was perfect. Stratus let his own bags down inside quickly, and they left to sort their cargo out.

It took them quite a while to unpack, sort and set up their delivery. By the time they were finished, the camp had four more tents, one of which now stored what spare equipment they'd brought that day.

Windbreaker had unpacked everything but his own belongings- that was the two pouches and a satchel on his left side, the satchel he _really_ anticipated opening.

While Stratus was outside inspecting their tent, he let down the bags to the ground in a corner opposite his friend's side.

While opening it, Windbreaker could've held a record for the widest smile in Pyrrhia as he pulled out several paint canvases, a brush, and several containers of various colors.

He could've been happy that his things made it, but he was happier that no-one managed to notice that some of **_their things_** were missing before they left.

Windbreaker didn't start out as a thief, not in the slightest.

But when Crimson no longer became a part of his life, he found that getting what he wanted got harder and harder.

So he stole. He'd started out doing it for necessity's sake. But soon he started to steal whenever he knew he could get away with it. Honestly, Stratus didn't like it very much, but the Kingdom was stretched quite thin. Supply troubles were a real issue, and soldiers didn't get the things they needed often.

Because of that, Stratus didn't complain when he had a chance to eat an extra deer's leg or suddenly had a broken dagger replaced on the occasional rainy day when they would rest at a town or bunk at an outpost somewhere.

As Windbreaker spotted Stratus walk back into the tent and freeze, he had to remind himself that his best friend still had limits, however.

"…What is this?" Stratus said, looking at the collection of things that were most definitely _not_ what they were ordered to carry.

"Stratus, it's nothing."

"Nothing?" He said.

Stratus paused, looking at what he'd taken.

"I'm not sure about this." He said.

"It's not that bad." Windbreaker replied. "There was room left in the storage and I wanted to compensate myself. Besides, I can say I paid for it."

"Paid for it? With what treasure?"

Windbreaker smiled and emptied another one of his bags-a small pile of gems, mostly rubies, spilled out.

"This treasure."

If Stratus looked horrified then, he looked like he was going to die now.

" _How did you even... Why?"_ Stratus said.

"All of these are _my belongings,_ Stratus." He replied.

"I'm...sure they are." Stratus said, giving a 'Let's stop talking about this' look, which was fine with him.

While Stratus fully entered the tent and closed it behind him, Windbreaker looked at the few canvases he'd had to work with.

Maybe he could try doing the moons when everyone was asleep? One of them was going to be full tonight, he'd been watching it wax for the past few weeks.

 _No, no…not the moons. Done that enough times…Perhaps the mountains?_

 _No…probably not. I'd be surprised if everyone was awake wh-  
_

 _"Everyone, report to the center of camp now!"_ Falcon's voice, again.

"Great. He read it." Stratus said, sighing while he sharpened his dagger against a stone on his side of the tent.

Windbreaker and Stratus eventually lazed their way out of the tent and went around, only to see that clearly something was very, very wrong.

In front of him, the entire camp was gathered. At least twelve SkyWings, three of them his newfound acquaintances, stared out past the trees and the sunlit fields into the distance.

A sinister column of black smoke stood menacingly over the entire landscape, towering over everything for miles.

"Someone bring me a compass. Where is that?" Falcon said.

"We came from that direction, Falcon." Windbreaker said, approaching them. "That's due south."

"South…" Falcon echoed.

"Are you serious? Are you _seriously serious?!_ " Falcon roared.

South. Where Point Sunset was.

Where their backup was.

Falcon whirled around to face the gathered soldiers, looking like he'd aged eight years in five seconds.

"Listen up, everyone!" He said. "Get armed and report to me in fifteen minutes. Move now!"

As Windbreaker and Stratus turned to get back into their tent, he felt a painful twinge in his stomach.

They'd just got here, and the war had already come for them.


End file.
